Player to watch: Trevor Mbakwe, Minnesota center. He adjusted slowly after returning from last season’s devastating knee injury but recently had four double-figure scoring games in a six-game span.

2. BIG EAST

Conference RPI: Second.

Rationale: This might be the last real season for the league, but it will not go quietly.

Surprising team: Georgetown. The Hoyas lost last season’s top three scorers, but guard Markel Starks and forward Greg Whittington have blossomed.

Disappointing team: Villanova. How is a team that’s .500 in the Big Five likely to fare in the Big East?

Player to watch: Gorgui Dieng, Louisville center. He’ll have missed a bit more than a month by the time he returns from a broken wrist. Will he recover the momentum he had been building in development?

3. MOUNTAIN WEST

Conference RPI: Third.

Rationale: Another league on the verge of both excellence and insignificance, the MWC could get UNLV to a Final Four before expiring.

Surprising team: Wyoming. Coach Larry Shyatt once was hired by Billy Donovan to shore up Florida’s defense. Now, he’s doing it for the Cowboys: Opponents shoot 38.9 percent and average 54.5 points.

Disappointing team: Nevada. The Wolf Pack finished 28-7 in their final WAC season but already have four defeats before starting competition in the tougher MWC.

Player to watch: Mike Moser, UNLV forward. Out since Dec. 9 with an arm injury, his recovery and reintroduction to the Rebels’ attack will be crucial.

4. ACC

Conference RPI: Fifth

Rationale: Six members have three losses or more. If everyone else weren’t so poor ...

Surprising team: Virginia. The Cavaliers were largely written off after losing to George Mason and Delaware, but their eight-game win streak, including Wisconsin and Tennessee as victims, put the Cavs back on track before losing to Old Dominion on Saturday.

Disappointing team: Florida State. The Seminoles have a rep for being meager on offense, but the decline on defense—to 82nd in defensive efficiency—is out of character.

Player to watch: James Michael McAdoo, North Carolina forward. To all those people who are going to write that he hurt his “draft stock” by returning to school, you probably can get started on that nonsense now.

5. PAC-12

Conference RPI: Fourth.

Rationale: All but one team is at least three games over .500. It doesn’t sound like much, but this year it seems to be.

Surprising team: Utah. A year ago, the Utes barely were playing basketball. Now, they’re shooting 47.3 percent from the field.

Disappointing team: Southern Cal. The Trojans thought they were poised for recovery with Jio Fontan recovering from injury and some solid additions, but nothing has worked.

Player to watch: Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA forward. All those who’ve given up on the Bruins should be warned he has averaged 21.0 points over the past five.

6. ATLANTIC 10

Conference RPI: Sixth.

Rationale: Why was it laughable to suggest the Big East’s Catholic 7 would join the Atlantic 10? Look at Fordham’s 3-9 record. That’s how it is most every year.

Surprising team: Butler. It’s not surprising to see the Bulldogs play well, but their neutral-court wins over North Carolina and Indiana were impressive.

Disappointing team: Saint Joseph’s. There was great promise following an early win over Notre Dame with a depleted lineup, but the inability to hold a lead at Villanova put a dent in the record.

Player to watch: Butler guard Rotnei Clarke. A guy like him could carry a team like the Bulldogs a long way.

7. SEC

Conference RPI: Eighth.

Rationale: If Kentucky’s 8-3 is the fifth-best record in your league, can’t be all bad.

Surprising team: LSU. Coach Johnny Jones’ first team is devoid of big wins but almost as light on defeats.

Disappointing team: Tennessee. The Vols get a partial pass for playing without Jeronne Maymon, but they did still fail to score 40 points in back-to-back games.

Player to watch: Kentucky forward Alex Poythress. NBA scouts keep saying nice things about him, but are they even watching how little urgency there is in his play?

8. BIG 12

Conference RPI: Seventh.

Rationale: My oh my, what a romp Kansas is going to enjoy on the way to its ninth consecutive conference title.

Surprising team: Oklahoma State. Yes, we expected Marcus Smart would play like a winner. No, we didn’t expect him to turn everyone else into a winner overnight.

Disappointing team: Baylor. Unlike most, we left Baylor out of our top 25. So we’re less disappointed than others, but still.

Player to watch: Kansas guard Ben McLemore. If McLemore becomes an 18-point superstar instead of a 16-point star, Kansas could win this thing. And by that, we don’t mean the Big 12.

9. MISSOURI VALLEY

Conference RPI: Ninth.

Rationale: The Valley has a deserved rep for being the best mid-major league but hasn’t enjoyed a Final Four since 1979. Creighton could change that.

Surprising team: Wichita State. The Shockers lost their top five scorers from last season’s NCAA team, but their start includes wins over VCU and Iowa.

Disappointing team: Missouri State. The schedule hasn’t been easy, but you can’t be losing to Alabama A&M.

Player to watch: Creighton forward Doug McDermott. Last time we had a Naismith Award winner from a legit mid-major, his name was Lionel Simmons. (Thought I was going to say Larry Bird, didn’t you?)

10. WEST COAST

Conference RPI: 10th.

Rationale: It doesn’t get much better from here down.

Surprising team: Santa Clara. After winning the CIT title in 2011, it appeared the Broncos were making significant progress. Then the injuries happened. Now, they’re back on track.

Disappointing team: BYU. It’s not that the Cougars lost four of five against major opponents. It’s that each loss was a double-digit margin.

Player to watch: Saint Mary’s guard Matthew Dellavedova. Between assists and his own baskets, he’s responsible for 43 percent of the Gaels’ field goals. How far can he carry them?